7 years and 8 months for 13 chocolate bars: Mykolaiv court delivers harsh sentence for robbery under martial law

The Inhulskyi District Court of Mykolaiv has delivered an unprecedentedly harsh sentence to a local resident for the theft of food products. On August 4, 2026, the court found the man guilty of robbery under martial law (Part 4 of Article 186 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and sentenced him to 7 years and 8 months in prison. Public attention was drawn not so much to the crime itself as to its material component: the damage amounted to only 1,476.65 hryvnias.

Chronology of the incident: from chocolate to court

According to the materials of court case No. 489/5093/26, the incident occurred on April 20, 2026, at a store of the "Aurora" retail chain (LLC "Vygodna Kupivka"), located on Troitska Street in Mykolaiv. The defendant, while in the sales area, hid 13 bars of chocolate of various brands under his outer clothing: 7 bars of "Milka", 5 bars of "Millennium", and 1 bar of "Milka Cheesecake".

The attempt to leave with the goods without payment was thwarted by the store's surveillance service. When an employee demanded that the citizen pay for the goods, he ignored the lawful demands and attempted to flee the scene. On the same day, the defendant was detained by officers of the National Police.

Legal qualification: why this is robbery, not theft

The key point of the trial was the qualification of the accused's actions. The defense insisted on reclassifying the act from robbery (Article 186 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) to secret theft of property (theft, Article 185 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Lawyers argued their position by stating that the accused did not realize that his actions were noticed by the store staff and believed he was committing a secret theft.

However, the court rejected the defense's request. The judicial body noted that from the moment of the public demand by the store employee to stop the unlawful actions, the nature of the act changed: secret removal of property turned into open theft. It was precisely this circumstance that allowed the actions to be qualified under the article on robbery.

Martial law factor and recidivism

The decisive role in the severity of the sentence was played by the legal regime of martial law. According to amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, thefts, robberies, and robberies committed during this period are automatically classified as serious and especially serious crimes. The minimum sanction for robbery under martial law is 7 years of imprisonment.

The final term of 7 years and 8 months was formed by partially combining the unserved part of the punishment from a previous sentence. It was established that the offense was committed during the defendant's period of conditional early release (CER), which became an aggravating circumstance.

Contradictory data

There are discrepancies in the case regarding the assessment of the degree of public danger of the act. On the one hand, the defense and public observers point to the disproportionality of the punishment: more than 7 years of imprisonment for goods worth less than 1,500 hryvnias. On the other hand, the prosecution and the court emphasize that under wartime conditions, the theft of food products, especially in large quantities (more than 10 units), is viewed as a threat to economic security and stability in the region. Judicial practice in 2026 demonstrates a tough stance by law enforcement agencies towards such crimes, ignoring arguments about the insignificance of the damage.